You might remember how much some of our writers, myself included, enjoyed the wrestling which was a feature of this year's 35 Denton. Taking place in proximity to the main stage, Friday and Sunday saw local wrestling promotion XCW setting up a ring just outside Dan's and trading blows for hours on end. It's come to our attention that, on the Friday night of the festival, one of the wrestlers suffered an unfortunate accident as the result of an errant suplex and broke his neck. The wrestler concerned, a Mr. Gentleman Jackson, heroically went on to finish the match before emergency surgery that day saved him from any further complications.

Those of you familiar with local promotion wrestlers will be aware that the job does not carry any form of medical insurance, however, and so our hero has been left with around $10,000 of medical bill debt. Mr Jackson, who has been with XCW for a year, is so popular among residents of Denton that on July 12th they will be pulling together to hold a benefit for him, in the hope they can help him clear some of those debts.

I spoke with Nite Davis, the owner of XCW, who told me that there will be a stellar line-up for the evening's show featuring Fly Gallery, Swedish Teens, Bad Machine, The Spectacle and headlined by Brent Best of Slobberbone, and that all proceeds from the $10 ticket goes towards Jackson's medical bills. Everyone involved, from the staff at Rubber Gloves where Jackson often worked as a security guard, to the bands themselves, has donated their time to this exceedingly worthy cause.

Davis says:

If we raise enough to provide him some breathing room I know that would make all the difference in the world. Mr. Jackson is a stand-up guy, if we only raised a dollar he would take with a smile on his face and think, "Well that's one less dollar I got worry about". He's such a good dude that we want to give him a solid amount to get him on the path out of the debt this has created.

As for other entertainment, the benefit has you covered there too, as Davis says

In between bands you'll be able to interact with some of the XCW Wrestling guys. There will be an Arm Wrestling challenge that could win you a $1 shot or you can take a chop, Ric Flair style, to the chest for a $1 PBR. We will have t-shirts, koozies, posters, and whatever other swag we can get our hands on will be for sale with proceeds going to Mr Jackson. We will have Ringoboy Screen Printing there doing prints live. Bring your own shirt and it'll only cost you $5.

We implore you to come out to this event, not just for the fact that Brent Best is playing Rubber Gloves, but because this is a guy that put his body on the line for some entertainment at 35 Denton. Now it's time for Denton to give a little something back. If you can't make the event, you can throw in a few dollars for Jackson's medical bills right here.